What and experience! What a privilege!

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In 2018 my poem ,entitled "Reborn", was one of ten works selected for a collaboration between well known print artist, Lucy Turner, and the "Words for Castle Ward" writers group as part of the Linen Biennale Northern Ireland.

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The collaboration resulted in a breathtaking set of hand crafted Shibori inspired linen panels, each unique in design, energy and colour as the indigo faded with each dyeing.  Created by Lucy Turner, these were overprinted with the work of the selected poets, as well as geometric patterns, inspired by flooring in old Irish linen workers cottages. Poets created work to compliment the linen work - inspired by the process of Shibori and Lucy's experience of it - the exhaustion of the labour, the fading of the indigo with each use,  the precision of the process and also a letting go so that the process has a life of its own too. 

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The "Linen Biennale Northern Ireland" Festival celebrates the past, present and future landscape of linen. Held every two years, it is presented and hosted at multiple venues across Northern Ireland and aims to stimulate new thinking about Ireland's oldest textile products - flax and linen. Forming a bridge bridge between Northern Ireland's linen heritage and contemporary users, it gives the linen story relevance to a wide range of modern audiences locally, nationally and internationally.

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